The war for top talent is real and selling your company to a Rockstar candidate who has multiple offers on the table takes a little finesse. How should you approach this and what do you need to do to seal the deal and beat out your competition? Read on to find out:




1. Find out the real reason they’re in the market.
In order to get to the heart of the situation, you need to uncover your candidate’s real pain points. Are they bored? Are they having conflict with a manager or team member? Is the work/life balance terrible? Have their benefits or commission plans been cut? Is the company going through a period of instability? Whatever the reason, many candidates won’t completely level with you up front, and it takes some work to uncover what is really important to them. That’s why it’s helpful to ask this question in several different ways as you move through the interview process—you may find that the answer changes or that more specifics are divulged once your candidate feels more comfortable with you. Once you get to the bottom of why they are looking to leave, you can use that as leverage to convince them to join your team—especially if you can offer them what they are missing in their current job.

2. Ask about the benefits and compensation package.
Money matters, but as most candidates will tell you—it isn’t everything. Most people still care about doing work that they feel connected to and work that is interesting and meaningful. However, a great job with expensive benefits and a weak compensation plan is never going to be an easy sell. If you know you’re paying below market value, or if your benefits are expensive and deductibles are high, you have your work cut out for you. In this case, you’ll need to demonstrate other unique selling points that set your company apart. Do you offer a shorter commute with more family time? Do you have work-from-home privileges? Are you able to offer the ability to work on a specific project that resonates with your candidate? You have to strategically think about other selling points that can offset sub-par benefits and compensation, otherwise you won’t stand a chance of closing your top candidate.

3. Treat counter offers cautiously.
When someone mentions they are considering a counter offer, look back at your notes to see why they originally told you they were interested in leaving. Remind them of some of these reasons and ask them what’s changed. Some people will say they have a counter offer just to negotiate a higher salary or additional perks, so tread cautiously here. Many people who accept counter offers find themselves back in the job market within a year, sometimes even sooner, so really getting to the heart of why they would want to stay is important for both of you.

4. Highlight your best-selling perks.
We’ve often heard candidates tell us that management and company culture play the biggest role in sealing the deal for them. These days many companies offer perks like free food, flex time, and onsite gyms or game rooms. While these are definitely nice additions, they don’t carry quite as much weight as you’d think. Instead of these superficial perks, think about what you really have going for you that your competition can’t duplicate. Dig a little deeper here to find perks that really do matter. Talk to your existing team to find out what keeps them around and what they love about working for you. And remember that you, as the manager are quite possibly the biggest selling point!

Ask us your hiring questions via the online chat tool in the lower left-hand corner of your screen. We love talking about hiring and all things HR related. And if you need more help with how to handle a candidate who has received multiple offers, and or a counter offer from their current employer, check out a previous blog we wrote specifically on that topic.